10 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY LETTERS TO JOHN ALSOP, 1775 Mr. Gherardi Davis recently gave the Society some extremely interesting letters written to the Honorable John Alsop (1724— 1794), which constitute source material for the history of New York City in the troubled, uncertain year 1775. Twenty of these letters were written to Alsop from New York City, between May 10 and October 19, 1775, when he was a delegate from New York to the Second Continental Congress; and eight were sent to him in November and December, 1775, by his fellow-delegate, Francis Lewis (1713—1803), who remained in Philadelphia, attending the sessions of Congress, after Alsop had returned to New York. Twelve of the letters are from Christopher Smith of New York City and Jamaica, Long Island, who evidently looked after Alsop's mercantile interests during his absence; three are from the firm of Curson & Seton (Richard Curson and William Seton), and two were written by Peter Keteltas. These correspondents belonged to the mercantile class, and were moderate in politics. Peter Keteltas expressed the opinion of others in his group when he wrote to Alsop from New York, on May 23, 1775 : "Hope the Congress will see cause to petition the King Again; and I wish it could be in a soft strain and abate of their Demands rather than Involve the Continent in a Cruel War, which will be the destruction of our province at Least." These are principally business letters, and contain news of arriving and departing ships; rumors of troops embarking for America, with conjectures as to their destination; and questions of the advisability of removing families and possessions from New York City to a place of greater safety. Christopher Smith (and, to a lesser extent, Peter Keteltas, also) were concerned over the tea situation. The Association drawn up by the First Continental Congress in October, 1774, forbade the importation of tea after December 1, 1774, and prohibited its purchase or consumption after March 1, 1775. Smith and other merchants in New York and Philadelphia had supplies of tea on hand, which they had imported before the adoption of the Continental Association. Hence, in May and June, 1775, and on into October, both Smith and